Oscars and Some Other Stuff (This is a long one)

Unfortunately I did not get to watch the Academy Awards this year. Since I am in Australia, it was on today (Mon) at 12:30, which means I was at work. I did however follow all the results as they came on my computer. This year was a great year and I am satisfied with most of the winners, except for TWO BIG PROBLEMS. Avatar getting absolutely no good awards and Sandra Bullock. Both of those are examples of pure politics, which make me angry. The Oscars are one of the most prestigious award shows in the world. It is the highest honor someone in the Entertainment industry can receive. When winning an Oscar it should be for your talent not by who likes you the most or other factors.

So let us begin. Sandra Bullock. Has been around a while, American sweetheart type. We love to watch her. She is entertaining. And she is a good actress. Don't get me wrong, I like her. Oscar winner? NO! At least not for "The Blind Side". I'll break it down. The other people in her category: Helen Mirren (already won recently), Meryl Streep (Is always nominated and won recently), Gabourey Sidibe (too unknown, and Monique had already won for Precious, so they have paid their dues there), and Cary Mulligan (too unknown, not a favorite). So who is left... Sandra Bullock, yeah lets just give it to her, we know her well. That is how it works. But mark my words, I am sure that at least 2 other people in that category had a better performance than SB, yet the Academy doesn't seem to look at that.

Now lets move on to Avatar. This was the biggest movie ever in the history of the world. It broke record after record both domestically and foreignly. Yet, it gets no major award? James Cameron is the full force behind Avatar. He wrote, directed, and produced such a groundbreaking movie, shouldn't he at least get something? So again, it goes to politics. Kathryn Bigelow wins Best Director. I'll put it simply like this, she is the first woman to be nominated in this category and the first woman winner. Simple as that. She won because she's a woman. Now I am not sexist by any means. I fully support women having equal rights in all aspects of life. But unless a woman truly is the "best director" in the category, than she shouldn't win. She directed good actors (her lead was nominated for best actor), good actors don't need much direction. Also the scale of her film didn't need much direction either. Whereas James Cameron directed mediocre actors with absolutely nothing to work with. He had not set and no props, he directed them to perfection in front of a green screen. That takes some talent. This is snub #1 for James. This upset me almost as much as when Ang Lee won best director over Spielberg in 06. Why? Cause he is Asian, and his movie was about gay people. It sounds bad, but its true. I have a fully valid argument for that which I'm not gonna get into right now.

So after the Academy stabbed James Cameron in the heart, they decided to twist it. Both he and I alike probably thought: "okay, okay, so he (I) didn't get the directing award, but that means that they were saving the best picture award for him (me)." But nooooooooooooo, no best picture award either, it goes to , oh wait of course, The Hurt Locker. Now I will tell you right now I have seen it and it is a great movie, but by no means "Best Picture" worthy. James Cameron deserved at least one of those awards. He practically single handedly got Hollywood out of its financial rut.

I'm done with my rant. Lets move on to the fun stuff. In honor of the Oscars I have decided that I would like to watch the Best Picture winners from every year that I am alive. So here is how the list looks so far (* seen it already):

The Last Emperor, Rain Man*, Driving Miss Daisy*, Dances With The Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs*, Unforgiven, Schindler's List*, Forrest Gump*, Braveheart*, The English Patient, Titanic*, Shakespeare in Love*, American Beauty*, Gladiator*, A Beautiful Mind*, Chicago*, LOTR Return Of The King*, Million Dollar Baby*, Crash*, The Departed*, No Country For Old Men*, Slumdog Millionaire*, The Hurt Locker*.

There are only 4 movies I haven't seen. So this should be easy. I will keep this tradition until the day I die.

To the other stuff. My job has made cutbacks and has laid off my entire team. Most people were gone last week, but they gave me and 2 others a couple extra weeks to work. So this Friday will be my last day and I am unemployed once again. I'm not exactly sure about what to do. I am still actively pursuing TV/Film work, but don't seem to be getting anywhere. I will just keep trying.

Currently Listening To: Metric

Recently Watched: Alice in Wonderland- Good. Very watered down for Tim Burton. It is aimed for kids so don't expect anything too dark and bad ass. Wasn't exactly what I expected but still enjoyable. I am very disappointed the "Un-Birthday" song was never sung.